Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps her Department is taking to combat the rise in hate crimes following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October.

The Government is clear that all forms of hate crime, including antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crime, are completely unacceptable. We expect the police fully to investigate these abhorrent offences and make sure those who commit them feel the full force of the law.

In light of the horrific Hamas terrorist acts in Israel and related reports of increased incidents of antisemitism in the UK, the Prime Minister has announced additional funding of £3 million for the Community Security Trust to provide additional security at Jewish schools, synagogues and other sites. The Home Secretary also chairs the Jewish Community Crime, Policing and Security Taskforce. This meeting brings together Government, law enforcement and the Community Security Trust in order to address Jewish community security concerns.

The Government is also concerned about increased reports of anti-Muslim hatred. The Home Office has extended the deadline for the protective security for mosques scheme and invite mosques and Muslim faith community centres to register for protective security measures. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has allocated over £6m to Tell MAMA since their inception in 2012 for their vital work monitoring and supporting victims of anti-Muslim hatred.

We are continuing to support the police to ensure they have the resources and tools required to tackle any incidents relating to the ongoing conflict. Where people incite racial or religious hatred or where people’s conduct is threatening, abusive or disorderly and causes distress to others, we expect the police to take action to ensure perpetrators can be brought to justice.

More broadly, the Government continues to fund True Vision, an online hate crime reporting portal, designed so that victims of hate crime do not have to visit a police station to report. We also continue to fund the National Online Hate Crime Hub, a central capability designed to support individual local police forces in dealing with online hate crime. The Hub provides expert advice to police forces to support them in investigating these offences.